Carleton College
Carleton College is a private nonprofit liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, founded in 1866, serving a residential undergraduate student body through 54 majors and roughly 1,000 courses with an 8:1 student-faculty ratio and 100% demonstrated financial need met.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1866
- HeadquartersNorthfield, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Carleton College does
Carleton College is a private, nonprofit liberal arts college founded in 1866 and located at One North College Street in Northfield, Minnesota. It serves a residential undergraduate population across approximately 54 majors and minors and roughly 1,000 courses, delivered with an 8:1 student-faculty ratio and supported by an extensive campus housing footprint (96% of students live on campus). The college markets itself nationally — roughly four out of five students originate from outside the Midwest — and has run an Office of Off-Campus Studies for 50 years to extend learning beyond the Northfield campus. Core academic and administrative infrastructure runs on Moodle (LMS), Workday (HR/finance), Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and a Cirrus Identity SAML SSO layer, with compliance programs covering Title IX and 16 CFR Part 314 information security standards.
The revenue model is conventional for a private nonprofit liberal arts institution: tuition and fees from a national undergraduate applicant pool, supplemented by endowment returns, annual giving, and restricted/unrestricted gifts. Carleton commits 100% of demonstrated financial need, distributes approximately $73 million in need-based aid annually, and granted an average 2023 award of $59,630; it also funded $464,000 of internship support in the most recent summer. Additional revenue-adjacent activity includes the Carleton Summer Liberal Arts Institute (pre-college/AP summer programming) and recurring federal research funding (e.g., a 2024 NSF EMBRACE grant #2409364 awarded to a geology faculty member). No public revenue, enrollment headcount, or endowment value is disclosed in the source material.
Carleton College firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Carleton College
- Legal name
- Carleton College
- Website
- https://carleton.edu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1866
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Carleton College is a private nonprofit liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, founded in 1866, serving a residential undergraduate student body through 54 majors and roughly 1,000 courses with an 8:1 student-faculty ratio and 100% demonstrated financial need met.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Carleton College industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Higher Education
- NAICS
- Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Residential Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Selective/Highly Selective Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAJ), General Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAA)
Keywords
Where Carleton College is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Northfield
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Carleton College business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Annual | Need-based financial aid covering full eligibility |
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Carleton College product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Carleton College offers a residential undergraduate liberal arts education across 54 majors and minors with approximately 1,000 courses delivered by faculty in an 8:1 student-faculty environment. The college complements academics with need-based financial aid (meeting 100% of demonstrated need), off-campus study programs, career services, residential life, and over 200 student organizations, all from its Northfield, Minnesota campus.
Product overview
Carleton College is a liberal arts institution offering undergraduate education across diverse academic disciplines. The institution provides a unified educational experience centered on residential liberal arts learning with approximately 54 majors and minors, supported by a learning management system (Moodle), financial aid services, and post-graduation career support. The college operates from its Northfield, Minnesota campus with facilities including Gould Library, recreation centers, and the arboretum. Key student services include off-campus studies programs, residential life (with 96% of students living on campus), and over 200 student organizations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Liberal Arts Undergraduate Education Comprehensive undergraduate liberal arts degree program covering 54 majors and minors across humanities, sciences, social sciences, arts, and interdisciplinary fields, taught by faculty in an 8:1 student-faculty ratio environment. Targets high-achieving high school graduates pursuing a four-year residential liberal arts education.
- Financial Aid Services
Quantifiable outcome
- 95% of graduates employed full-time or attending graduate/professional school within six months
Companies that use Carleton College
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Carleton College technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Carleton College partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Carleton College competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Davidson College: Highly selective residential liberal arts college in North Carolina with comparable undergraduate teaching focus, financial aid commitment, and post-graduation outcomes.
- Grinnell College: Selective residential liberal arts college in Iowa with strong teaching reputation, need-based aid, and a similar Midwest-base-but-national-recruit footprint to Carleton.
- Wellesley College: Highly selective liberal arts college in Massachusetts with comparable scale, strong teaching emphasis, and similar financial aid policies targeting access.
- Amherst College: A highly selective, residential liberal arts college in Massachusetts with strong teaching focus, similar financial aid policies, and overlapping applicant pool with Carleton.
- Williams College: A leading highly selective residential liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, with similar scale, academic intensity, and national applicant draw; serves as a benchmark for the top of the liberal arts category.
- Pomona College: A highly selective residential liberal arts college in Claremont, California, with comparable academic profile, selectivity, and student-faculty ratios; one of the closest direct comparables in the top tier of U.S. liberal arts institutions.
- Bowdoin College: Selective residential liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine, with similar student-faculty ratios, need-based aid commitment, and a comparable set of peer institutions in national rankings.
- Middlebury College: Highly selective liberal arts college in Vermont known for strong faculty teaching, language/international programs, and similar undergraduate residential model.
- Haverford College: Selective residential liberal arts college in Pennsylvania with strong academic profile, small class sizes, and a comparable position among top-tier liberal arts institutions.
- Swarthmore College: Highly selective residential liberal arts college in Pennsylvania with comparable academic rigor, 100% demonstrated-need financial aid, and national draw.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Carleton College social profiles
Digital presenceCarleton College compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Carleton College financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Carleton College leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Carleton College funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Carleton College M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Carleton College
What does Carleton College do?
Carleton College offers a residential undergraduate liberal arts education across 54 majors and minors with approximately 1,000 courses delivered by faculty in an 8:1 student-faculty environment. The college complements academics with need-based financial aid (meeting 100% of demonstrated need), off-campus study programs, career services, residential life, and over 200 student organizations, all from its Northfield, Minnesota campus.
Is Carleton College a public or private company?
Carleton College is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Carleton College founded?
Carleton College was founded in 1866. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Carleton College based?
Carleton College is headquartered in Northfield, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Carleton College's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Davidson College, Grinnell College, Wellesley College, Amherst College, Williams College, Pomona College, Bowdoin College, Middlebury College, Haverford College and Swarthmore College.
Does Carleton College have an API?
No public API is recorded for Carleton College.
What industry is Carleton College in?
Carleton College's product category is Higher Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAHACAH, Residential Liberal Arts Colleges, with a secondary code of EDAHACAJ, Selective/Highly Selective Liberal Arts Colleges. Its NAICS code is 61131 and its SIC code is 8200.